Tired
by OctoJoe
Summary: Minato was an instant faster, and the ninja world is different for it. Naruto's mother lives, but it may take quite a bit for Naruto to pick up the pieces of his broken family.
1. Chapter 1

**Because of a depressing amount of quality, complete Naruto fanfics where he's a believable badass, I decided to make a set of circumstances where he could be one, then decided to write that down. Hopefully my brain-barf comes out as somewhat believable :D Enjoy**

* * *

By the ripe old age of five and a half, Naruto Uzumaki had figured out that the majority of Konohagakure no Sato blindly hated his very existence, and by extension, his Kaa-san as well. They didn't go out much, partly due to that hate, and the fact that sometimes, his Kaa-san wasn't _there._ He could tell when those not-there days were gonna be, because his mother's normally flaming red hair would seem to shrivel, and she wouldn't respond to anything save only the most incessant (desperatepleadingplease _momsaySOMETHING)_ badgering. Even then, she would never look at him, not really. She looked through him, trying to see something else.

He learned later in life that she was looking at a ghost.

They did go out once, due to his insistence, but anywhere they went, villagers drew the shutters and locked doors. After spending several hours like this, Naruto loudly complaining about the time spent walking, Kushina took her son into a seedier part of town, much to his disgruntlement. There they spied an open diner with only cloth flaps separating it from the outside streets. Above it, emblazoned in flowing strokes of kanji, a sign read Ichiraku's ramen. It exuded the most heavenly smell in Naruto's short life, and he immediately pulled his mother towards the stall. She only smiled at him with her black ringed eyes and stumbled after him.

They had just sat down inside when a stern faced man with tan skin gruffly asked what they wanted. Kushina ordered a small miso ramen. Naruto opened his mouth to place his order, but his mother stopped him. "That's for you, Naruto-kun," she said, her gaunt face stretching into a thin smile.

The man slammed the bowl in front of Naruto, who took up his chopsticks and began shoveling the noodles into a gaping hole that was his mouth. When the noodles were gone, Naruto slurped up the soup and belched to show his appreciation. Kushina took a wad of cash out of her now empty pockets and handed it the man's expectant hand.

Afterwards, the two headed home. They washed their faces in grimey water and settled on the floor for bed.

Kushina did not eat that night.

* * *

When Naruto turned six, he knew with certainty he needed to do something. Forced to grow up, he now knew he and his mother could not live anymore, as he had seen her part seething, part crying over pieces of paper with orderly rows of numbers on them he identified as bills for payment. He knew then, when he heard Kaa-San arguing with a pompous man with thinning lips and a pasty face and catching words like _repossession_ and _late-dues,_ that he needed to do his part as well.

With that knowledge, came determination, a foreign concept in his mind. His Kaa-San needed him, and she believed in him, when all he got from everyone else was distrust, anger, and fear. At age six, Naruto Uzumaki went to Ichiraku's ramen stand and demanded a job.

The man merely smirked, threw an apron at him, and pointed at a pile of stained cookware.

At the end of the month, when Kaa-San was hunched over the papers with tear stains on them, Naruto went up to her poked her in the side. Blearingly blinking at him, she arched a brow when he handed her an envelope containing his paycheck. She removed the contents of the envelope and scanned them over. First, confusion, then understanding flashed in her eyes. She looked to her son wide-eyed, then back down at the form, then back again. Something peaceful, something light and something _there_ flared in her eyes and she scooped up Naruto into her arms, hugging him tight.

"My son… Oh my son…" she muttered next to his ear through choked sobs, and something bright and warm washed and expanded over his chest.

Then she rose to her feet and declared a celebratory visit to Ichiraku's, and Naruto whooped and laughed right along with her. He could not recall the last time his Kaa-San's eyes were so full of life.

Later that night, when they returned home full of smiles and hushed laughter, Naruto could finally put a name to that wonderful feeling he had when he presented his paycheck.

Hope, the same thing he saw for the first time in Kaa-San's eyes that night.

* * *

When Naruto was closing the gap to seven years old, he overheard a conversation between two men with those green jackets that didn't seem to care about him all that much, which he was thankful for. He had been picking up vegetables from one of the few spots in the village that would serve him, namely the merchant district, where merchants came in from other parts of the world and sold off their wares. Merchants who didn't know him, and didn't hate him.

"Where is that little sister of yours, man?" Naruto overheard with a sense of longing for the comradeship and familiarity the two displayed. The other man responded, "Oh, I thought I told you. She's starting in the Ninja Academy this year, so she can help me pay off dues down the road." The other man took on a studious expression. "Right, yeah, I forgot. Genins get paid quite a bit, don't they?"

At that, Naruto's mind froze. He had always wanted to be a ninja, and expressed his dream of being Hokage to his Kaa-San, who smiled proudly but sadly at him. He dreamed of going on adventures and saving princesses, but being forced to take care of himself and his mother had tempered him into believing them to be childish fantasies that didn't help them survive any. Upon hearing that ninjas did in fact receive payment, he grew exceedingly happy, both for the (finally!) chance to be a ninja, and to help out Kaa-San.

He bought everything else he needed and hurried home, excited for one of the few times in his life. When he walked through the door and yelled out his desire for for joining the ninja academy, his mother smiled proudly at him and said "I was wondering when you would ask that, y'know!"

Naruto was enrolled that afternoon when they went to the tall building under the mountain with the faces of all previous hokage engraved unto it. They went up into the tower and visited an old man named Sarutobi Hiruzen with wise and compassionate eyes. Naruto promptly named him Jiji-Sama due to his liver spots, much to Kushina's mortification. The Hokage simply smiled and chuckled good naturedly. After an encouraging nod from his mother, he loudly expressed his desire to be in the ninja academy.

The Hokage gave Kushina a grave look, but she waved him off. With a sigh and a forlorn smile, he stamped a couple papers and handed them to Naruto, who whooped.

"Kushina-San… I wish to speak with you alone, if you please." Naruto blanched at the Hokage's request. He looked to his mother, who told him to wait for her in the hall. He did as instructed, wary of her tone. He stepped out into the hall, closing the door behind him. He then immediately pressed his ear against the crack of the door, listening to the voices on the inside.

Naruto listened to the dry raspy thing that was the Hokage's voice. "Kushina, are you certain this is a wise course of action? To my knowledge, he is already working a job, becoming a ninja may be too much. He is only a child." Kushina's terse reply surprised Naruto. "Naruto isn't a child anymore. He had to grow up so quick in this unforgiving world, and he of all people deserves to chase his dreams." Then, in a quieter voice, "It might be one of the few things I can give him." Hiruzen's tired voice replied, "I know your feelings, Kushina. I, too, want the boy to become great, but it might just be too much." Kaa-San took a moment to respond. Naruto could hear the ticking of the clocks and the muted shuffling of papers from the secretary down the hall. "You're underestimating him, y'know. Naruto has the same spark as his father, the will to do all he can for his precious people. It took me a long time to see that in my son. Naruto had given me hope at my lowest point, when all I had given him was a comatose mother who just didn't care. I believe in him now, and will do so forever, y'know."

It was silent for a long time after that. Naruto was wide eyed and the world was misty. _I swear Kaa-San,_ _I'll show all of them, I'll be a strong ninja, then they'll have to respect us!_ He resolved to himself. The Hokage's surprised tone floated from between the door crack, breaking Naruto from his reverie. "I suppose you're right Kushina; forgive me. I forgot, he is his son after all. If anyone can handle it, it's Naruto. He has done much for you, I see that now." His mother's voice responded, "Yes, he has. I know he will do so for others as well. It's who he is. If that is all, I think we're both due for some celebratory ramen."

"Yes, of course, don't let me keep you. Good day, Kushina."

"To you as well, Hokage-sama."

Naruto's Kaa-San stepped into the hall looking lighter than she had in years. She did not look tired anymore.


	2. Chapter 2

Things progressed relatively smoothly for the next five years, if Naruto was speaking frankly. His funds from working in Ichiraku's have enabled him and Kaa-San to refurbish their studio. It came with a bed now, and even a working stove, where Naruto cooked meals for himself and his mother. Courtesy of knowledge of cooking goes to his Nee-chan, Ayame.

Expressing a desire to move up the ranks of ninja to better support his small family, Naruto studied hard in the academy, knowing it was one of the only ways to to reach his dreams, dreams that seemed so out of reach for so long now seemed in his grasp, and it was an indescribable feeling. Naruto was in the upper echelons of class ranking, and due credit went to his Kaa-San. She was very extremely evident on not allowing Naruto to slack off on his studies. When questioned on it one night, she revealed that she used to be a dead last, a statement that flabbergasted Naruto. He had seen her practicing some days where the sun was shining and the birds chirped and she was there. She had pulled off complicated taijutsu maneuvers that had her flipping in the air and creating craters in the ground. Simply put, Kaa-San was badass, and Naruto wanted to be like that so bad.

So, understandably, when his mother told him of how she was the dobe of her class, he hit her with a flat look, conveying his disbelief. His mother just giggled and told it was true. "But," she said, "I made myself a badass kunoichi through not giving in and not giving up." She laid a hand unto his yellow mat of hair while he looked up at her with wide eyes. "Don't give up your dreams, my son. Any and all who say they're impossible are already weaker than you. Those who give up can't be Hokage, y'know!"

So now, taking up those words as his shield against the hate filled world, Naruto set forth with determination and a work ethic to match. He perused the library (on the days when an old woman with a stern face didn't work the desk, she would always run him out) and took out books about chakra theory and chakra control, politics and history, work-out curriculums and reliable dishes for the aspiring shinobi. He studied them extensively with his Kaa-San every night after his homework was out of the way. He really, really didn't like it at times, but everytime he came home an excellent grade on tests and papers, Kaa-San's proud and vibrant eyes reminded him why he suffered through them.

The ramen rewards helped, as well.

Of course, Naruto knew he wasn't the best. He had good taijutsu skills for his age, but not excellent. His chakra control was abysmal, but still passable at the same time. He plowed through the academy control exercises, dogging on until he got the leaf floating exercise down. His mother's proud eyes always made everything worth it.

But still, nothing in terms of being a shinobi came easy to Naruto. That wouldn't be such an issue if weren't for the fact that one Uchiha Sasuke existed. Everything came easy to him, and it made Naruto queasy with anger. It wasn't even that; not really. Naruto had heard of the Uchiha massacre, everyone had. He could understand where Sasuke would retreat into himself to stave off the pain, but, to Naruto, he did it in the worst way possible. Where Naruto craved physical affection but had almost none given to him, Sasuke seemed to despise any form of attachment and actively tried to squash it. Yet, he had affection in spades-in the academy the female population unanimously wanted to be his wife, the male portion all looked up to him, and the instructors all praised him.

Yet, despite that, Sasuke pushed all others away for the sake of bettering himself, and looked upon and belittled anyone he saw as weak. Naruto could just not understand how anyone could be that conceited with so many that believed in him.

He just shrugged off the matter in the end. He was just too tired to dwell on it most of the time, and tonight was no exception.

* * *

Uchiha Sasuke was tired.

As he dropped his gear into an unmarked clearing that served as his training ground, he reflected on his situation. As the last Uchiha, he had expected to garner attention. He was not even surprised at the praise and attention he gained being at the top of the class concerning all areas. But really, could those fools learn to leave well enough alone?

He settled into the Uchiha patented interceptor taijutsu stance. After a moment, he rushed a defenseless oak tree with a flurry of punches and kicks.

For the life of him, he could not see where the will of fire belief, one that mentions the power of comradeship, could ever hold a place in the shinobi world. He could see clearly now what this world revolved around-power and hatred (hate me, foolish little brother). Those who would rely on others are weak. With this mindset, he saw most of the shinobi of his generation as weak. He largely dismissed them, all except for one.

Naruto Uzumaki. While everyone else the Uchiha saw praised and supported him, Naruto almost openly despised him. He would have just passed it off as jealousy if Naruto wasn't a respectable and capable shinobi in his own right, being one of the only in his age group who could keep up with him during the taijutsu spars every month.

It wasn't just his competency as a ninja, though. Everytime Sasuke looked into Naruto's eyes, there was a faint spark of something in those eyes that was strangely familiar. The painstaking loneliness and bitterness that were reflected in his mirror were also reflected in the Uzumaki's eyes.

Sasuke smirked. Naruto Uzumaki was… interesting.

* * *

Naruto was extremely nervous this morning. He had trained hour upon relentless hour and spent days studying everything from politics to advanced chakra theory in preparation for today. His Kaa-San had trained him into the ground with complex taijutsu forms, shuriken throwing, and handling kunai. He had gone over everything he knew and learned in the academy, then triple checked that knowledge. Never let it be said that Naruto Uzumaki ever slacked off in anything concerning being a shinobi.

Today was the day the graduation exam was to take place. With how much prep-work had gone into making sure he was ready, Naruto should not, by technical definition, have been nervous about today. And he wouldn't be, either; if it weren't for the clone jutsu. It was the one jutsu that had barred Naruto from graduation, as it was the one jutsu that he could not do. None of the academy teachers would share their opinions with him, and without a doujutsu that could sense chakra, such as the byakugan, Kushina could only guess at the problem.

With trembling hands, Naruto put on his best outfit, a dark orange shirt with a high, chin length collar and elbow length blue sleeves. A red Uzumaki clan symbol was sown unto the back. Navy blue cargo pants were next, coming down to mid shin. Black shinobi open toed boots covered up the rest of Naruto's legs. He looked into his mirror for a second and studied his face for any inconsistencies. He looked at his whiskered face, and his jaw length sideburns that snuck out from under the strap of his goggles and hung freely, framing his face. He strapped his kunai holster to his right thigh and made his way into the kitchen where Kaa-San stood waiting with a breakfast of steamed rice, miso soup and grilled fish. Naruto smiled shakily and sat down, eating the dish. Kushina smiled gently at him. After both were done, Kushina stood him up dusted him off. Then, she laid a hand unto his mat of blonde hair. "Naruto, however today may go, always know that you have done me proud. I believe in you." Naruto looked away, shamefaced. "Right. I know Kaa-San." Kushina just tutted. "Now, where is that confidence, Naruto? People aren't gonna believe in meek Hokage, y'know!" Slowly, Naruto's face morphed from tense and high strung into something calm and confident.

"Right! I can't let them down after all!" With that, Naruto ran to the door, Kushina watching him go with a smile. Just before he went out, Naruto turned to his mother again. "I'll make you proud, Kaa-San. Believe it." And with that he was out the door.

Kushina closed her eyes in contentment. "You already have, my son."

* * *

"…Uzumaki Naruto, please step into the exam room."

Because of the spelling of Naruto's last name, he was one of the last to go. Uchiha Sasuke was right before him, and it did nothing to calm Naruto's nerves seeing him calm and collected, his new hitai-ite gleaming on his forehead.

Naruto slowly got up and walked toward the exam room, trying to quell the tremor in his step. As he went into the exam room, he hoped against hope that the bunshin jutsu wouldn't be part of the test.

"Hello, Naruto. Are ready for the test?" asked an academy instructor, Iruka. Naruto bowed to him. "Hai, Iruka-sensei." Naruto was relieved Iruka was the one administering the test. He was one of the only teachers who never tried to sabotage Naruto's progress as a shinobi. The only other one who held the same title would be Mizuki-sensei, who coincidentally was on Iruka's right. "This test will be on the kawamori, henge, and the bunshin." Naruto's heart froze. "You may begin with the kawamori." Naruto panicked for all of half a second, then steeled his nerves. I can. For Kaa-San, and for myself.

For the kawamori, Naruto substituted himself with a chair in the corner of the room, to which the two instructors nodded their approval. He then made himself a carbon copy of Iruka, again earning the two's approval.

Naruto slowly made the hand seals for the bunshin, having a slight trembling in his hands. He closed his eyes and gritted his teeth. He poured as much chakra as he could into the technique, wanting so bad for it just work. "Bunshin no jutsu!" he ground out. There was a popping sound and the hissing of smoke. He cracked open his eyes-and his heart sank. Next to him was a pile of wheezing pastiness that had no business of passing as an actual person.

Iruka gave him a sad look. "I'm sorry, Naruto, but that is not a passable clone. You do not get a passing-" Mizuki interrupted with a smooth smile, "C'mon, Iruka, why not let the boy have a passing grade? His taijutsu is exceptional, and the written tests are above average. Besides, that is technically a clone." Naruto's hopes rose a smidge, but were quickly squashed when Iruka denied. "I'm sorry, but I can't in good conscience let him be a ninja with such a pathetic clone." Iruka turned to Naruto. "I'm sorry Naruto, but you-"

"Ne, sensei…" Naruto's quiet voice interrupted him. "Hmm? Yes Naruto?" he responded. "Is it alright… if I try again, Sensei?" Iruka looked at him for a moment. "Very well," he allowed.

Naruto's heart leaped. He stared at his hand, thinking hard. _All the times I've tried the bunshin, I always tried to pump as much chakra as I could into the technique, hoping It'd work, but it never did._ His hand clenched. _What if it's the opposite? What if I need to use as little as possible? It is the least chakra intensive technique on the curriculum, after all._ With that in mind, he once again performed the hand seals for the bunshin. He closed his eyes and took a breath. All those hours spent tree walking and leaf floating exercises came to him in flashes. "Bunshin no jutsu," he commanded.

An exact copy of Naruto popped into existence in a hiss of smoke.

Iruka smiled. "Congratulations, Naruto. You passed and are now a Genin of Konoha. You can grab your hitai-ite off the table there."

Naruto walked with unbelieving steps towards the orderly rows of headbands gleaming in the fluorescent light. Only when he touched the cool metal of the headband did he finally truly believe what had transpired. A watery smile crawled its way onto his face. I did it, Kaa-San.

He took his hitai-ite and strode proudly to his future.

* * *

Naruto listened to the cicadas in the summer heat. The sun was setting, making an art project of the sky. He walked along amiably, quite content with the world. Even the heated whispers about allowing it to pass could not do much to dampen his mood. He had the day off of work, so he took a scenic route past the Hokage monument, their faces looking over their beloved village proudly. Naruto smirked and raised his fist to monument.

 _Right there, right next to you, Yondaime-sama._

"Naruto, wait up!" Naruto flinched and turned towards the voice. "...Mizuki-sensei?"

Mizuki ran up to Naruto, huffing and panting. "Naruto, I just got out of a meeting with the other instructors, and they told me to tell you, that you are qualified for a special promotion!"

Naruto blinked. He had not been expecting that. "Promotion?"

Mizuki rapidly nodded his head. "Mhmm! Turns out they were very surprised that you figured out what was wrong with your bunshin all by yourself. They think your skills are already at chunin level, so why wait?

If Naruto wasn't riding an emotional high right now, he would have been more suspicious of this sudden interest in him. As it was, however, Naruto had just achieved the dream of his short life, plus he still wanted to make things better for his Kaa-San. To him, right at that moment, this was an offer he couldn't pass up. "Alright, what do I do?"

Mizuki smiled. "All you have to do is snag the kinjutsu scroll from the Hokage's archives. Then, bring it back to you and your Kaa-San at your apartment. Oh, and don't get caught!"

Naruto smiled, nodding. Breaking into the Hokage's stuff was a bit daunting, but this was his ultimate chance.

Mizuki smiled, nodded once, then walked off. Naruto did the same. With his back turned, Mizuki allowed his easy smile to twist into a vicious smirk.


	3. Chapter 3

Kushina's brow arched when she heard a series of polite knocks on the door. No one knocked on her door, unless it was from the drunk villagers guided by bitterness and sadness. Cautiously, she went to the door and opened it, and revealed a man with aqua marine hair and an amiable smile. She would have immediately slammed the door if it weren't for the man's chunin vest and Konoha hitai-ite, signifying him as a ninja. Unlike civilians, ninja generally didn't openly despise her and her son. Of course, they didn't really care, either, and she wished she could say she could get angry with that sort of sentiment. As it was, Kushina herself was so jaded with her husband's death and the carnage brought on by the Kyuubi no Yoko, that she wasn't there for her son for the first part of his life. It brought shame on her that Naruto had to grow up long before any child had a right to just to take care of them both.

"Hello there, Uzumaki-san. It would make my night if I could come in and share a word?" Kushina blinked, then sharpened her gaze. "What is it you want, Mr…?" The man cringed, then bowed. "Ah… Forgive me. My name is Mizuki, and I'm one of Naruto-kun's instructors at the academy. I was hoping to exchange a few words about Naruto-kun, if that would be agreeable?" Kushina blanched at the close honorific the man, Mizuki, attached to her son's name. Cautious but curious, Kushina stepped aside to let the man in.

"Welcome to our _very_ humble adobe, Mizuki-san." Mizuki chuckled easily.

* * *

Naruto's mission was simple. Get into the Hokage tower, grab the kinjutsu scroll hidden anywhere in the multiple levels of the building dodging multiple chunin guards, the Hokage's personal guard, and the Hokage himself. Then, get out undetected. Cake.

If Naruto was any worse than he was at the henge no jutsu, the straightforward plan wouldn't have worked. Naruto was Naruto, however, and henging into his mother, with her mid back length red, flat hair and admittedly large assets made making himself look like the Hokage's new secretary child's play. On his way, he did his best to act like a wet-behind-the-ears secretary nervously making his way up to the Hokage's office to let him know of an urgent meeting that came up. It wasn't all that hard; Naruto had only been to the Hokage's office once before, and that was when he was six. Plus, this was the Hokage, the strongest ninja in the village.

Schooling his expression, Naruto knocked on the door once he arrived. A tired, raspy voice beckoned him inside, and he grasped the handle and pulled down. With a snick and a click, Naruto let himself inside and took in the Hokage's appearance. Old age has weighed heavily on the man, and his position has also contributed to the noticeable stoop in the Professor's shoulders. Blearingly blinking up at Naruto, the Hokage tired eyes lit with faint recognition. "Ah… the new secretary, aren't you? What's the issue?" Naruto bowed respectfully, "Gomen, Sandaime-sama. Something came up that requires your presence. Something about… academy funds? They just told me to get you." Naruto's lie slipped easily out of his mouth, and the Hokage gave out a long sigh. "I had told the new instructors to take this out to the civilian council. Hmmm, Alright, I'll get this taken care of. Arigatou." The old man slowly rose and made his way to the door. Just before his hand touched the handle, Hiruzen turned to Naruto and regarded him, making him break out into a cold sweat. "You seem off today. Are you alright?" Naruto nodded vigorously. "Just fine sir, tired a little bit, that's all." Hiruzen chuckled. "Yes, today has been a particularly trying day, for all of us." The Hokage grunted. "What with all the border disputes recently." He looked up again and gave another weary smile. "Well, good day then." Naruto bowed again, "Hai, to you as well, Hokage-sama."

With another nod, Hiruzen exited the office.

Naruto stood still for a second, listening to the Professor's receding footsteps. Then he raced to the desk and started pulling open drawers and sending papers flying.

"I know it's here…"

* * *

"So, Mizuki-san, what is your interest in my son?" The two adults were inside the house now, namely the kitchen. Kushina was hunched over some tea, and hadn't turned to face Mizuki. He took the opportunity, discreetly wrapping ninja wire around the chair leg opposite him at the western style table he was seated at. As he did so, he answered Kushina's question. "Ne, I know it's unprofessional, but I just wanted you to know that Naruto-kun passed the exam, and with excellent marks." Kushina smiled slightly as she turned to look at him. "Yes, I knew he would. That bunshin didn't trip him up, huh?" Mizuki chuckled. "It almost did, but he pulled it off in the end. I am very proud of him."

Kushina jerked, startled. "Proud?" No one had ever said that about her son other than she. Naruto wanted to become a ninja to support her, sure, but she knew he also craved acknowledgement from his peers, but that was hard when all the boy did was work and train. Training to become a ninja and working to support the household had left Naruto with little free time, consequently he didn't actually have friends. He was an outcast, and Kushina felt shame for her her part of Naruto's dilemma. Mizuki nodded to Kushina's inquiry. "Mhm. Proud. I have to say, I wasn't fond of him when I first met. I… was blinded by my hate, I admit. All I could see was what was inside him, so I could never see him for what he was." Kushina's hand tightened on the handle of the teapot at his words. "But that was awhile ago. I see now that Naruto-kun is a smart and hardworking young boy, and he is going to be a great shinobi one day.

Kushina's eyes misted over at Naruto's high praise. She smiled warmly at Mizuki. "Heh, I knew people would see the light, y'know." She walked back to the table and poured the tea into cups for herself and him. She set the pot down and started toward her seat. As she did, Mizuki deftly flit his hand left, scooting the chair over just as Kushina made to sit down. Misinterpreting the landing, Kushina stumbled and fell. Mizuki jerked up. "Kushina-san, are okay?" He went around the table to help her up, and subtly sprinkled something flakey and white into Kushina's tea. It promptly dissolved, nothing left behind to signify anything at all had been there.

Accepting Mizuki's outstretched hand, Kushina got back to her feet. "Gomen, I didn't mean to fall like that… Guess I'm just a bit tired." Mizuki nodded understandingly and helped her back in her seat. "It's alright. What with graduation stress and all, I understand at least a little bit," Mizuki chuckled as he slid back in his seat.

Kushina smiled and took a sip of her tea.

* * *

"Ah! Here it is, all official documents list!"

Naruto cheered as he held a stack of papers in his hand. He ripped through the document, looking for one particular scroll, it would be listed here. "Aha, here we go! The kinjutsu scroll! Now, where is it... " Naruto trailed off, looking at the information listed. "Nani? In the Hokage's office?!" Naruto looked to his left, at an old life size bust of what had to be the first Hokage. In there…! Naruto rushed to it and carefully lifted the painting up and setting it aside to reveal… A wall.

Naruto frowned for a moment before something occurred to him. He held a hand sign in front of him. _Kai!_ He sent as much chakra as he could towards breaking the genjutsu. The wall in front of him shimmered like water and faded away, revealing a steel door; the even high level genjutsu falling apart like so many childrens' building blocks. Naruto grasped the handle and pulled, revealing a dimly lit room, with a single spotlight shining a scroll around three feet long sitting there, challenging, almost expectant.

Let it never be said Uzumaki Naruto strayed from a challenge.

He swiped the scroll and flew out the room. Closing the door and putting up the bust again, Naruto left no evidence of his involvement. He went to the window of the office and pried it open with adrenaline infused fingers. With a final look about the office, he leapt out into the night, back to Kaa-san.

He couldn't wait to tell her the great news.

* * *

Kushina held a hand to her aching head. The world had gone hazy all of a sudden. The lights were too bright, and she couldn't tell how far away the table was. "Argh… What the hell is wrong with me? I'm dizzy all of a sudden…" Mizuki looked on with a cold glint in his eyes, and she noticed this. With a growing despair and a sense of betrayal, she said, "Dammit Mizuki, don't just stand there, get some help!" Mizuki just laughed humorously. "I can't do that, Uzumaki-san." Kushina growled. "And just why the hell not?!" Mizuki's gaze sharpened and he gazed down at her with contempt.

"Because doing so would be a disservice to Konoha!" He declared.

* * *

Naruto was on cloud nine as he raced towards his home. To him, this was a great accomplishment, slipping past the Hokage and stealing the kinjutsu scroll right out from under him. He expected things to get better when he became a ninja, but this was great! Things were finally going his way.

Glancing back at the scroll tied to his back, Naruto felt a sudden pang of curiosity. _Mizuki-sensei wouldn't mind, would he?_ Naruto smirked as he pulled the scroll to the front of him. Keeping the scroll open as well as not loosing his footing was a daunting task, but cleaning dishes at Ichiraku's as well as serving them taught one the importance of multi tasking. Knowing he would arrive home soon, Naruto opened the scroll and looked for the easiest looking one. One jutsu required only one hand sign, and it caught Naruto's attention.

 _Kage bunshin, huh?_

* * *

Kushina glared hatefully at Mizuki, who stood there with a satisfied smirk "Urgh… Why, you bastard? You said you respected Naruto!" Mizuki shook his head pitifully. "Pretty words, my dear. We are shinobi, and deception is part of the trade. Your time off the battlefield has dulled your senses indeed. Still though, I expected more… resilience." Kushina stayed silent and glared sullenly at him. "Hmm? What's that?" He taunted. "You can't speak? No more words to fail?"

 _Naruto… Please, stay away._

"Kaa-san? Taidama!" Kushina's heart froze.

"Stay away, Naruto!" A faint _nani?_ Could be heard, and Naruto poked his head around the kitchen doorway.

* * *

This was not how Naruto thought his night was gonna go. Truth be told, he envisioned streamers and a cake. Mizuki-sensei and Kaa-san would be there to congratulate him on the passing of the test and the promotion to chunin. They were both there, yes, but his Kaa-san was slumped bonelessly on the table, and Mizuki-sensei was standing over her. There was a kunai in his hand.

Immediately, Naruto got into the taijutsu stance his Kaa-san had drilled into his mind and body, left palm facing his opponent, his right arm bent to his side and tucked in; it formed a fist. Cool, icy blue eyes regarded Mizuki wearily. "What happened, Mizuki-sensei? Who did this?" Mizuki just glared hatefully at him. "Tche. Brat. Who do you think did this?" Naruto growled. "Bastard. I'm gonna kill you." Mizuki busted out laughing at that. "I would expect nothing less from a demon like yourself!"

Naruto's face contorted in sadness at that. "So… You're just like the rest of them. They all call me demon, too…" Mizuki just cackled. "And you deserve it for what you did! Haven't you ever stopped to think that maybe the villagers have a reason for what they did?"

Naruto's face twisted into an icy rage. "Shut up."

Naruto whirled at Mizuki with all the controlled chaos of a hurricane. There was a reason the Uzumaki name meant maelstrom. Their taijutsu style utilized the use of heavy, fast strokes that flowed from one strike to the next. It was an unorthodox style in the sense that it hid one, critical strike in a random series of feints. It was a confusing style based on overwhelming your enemy in a short time. It did it's purpose well-Mizuki was caught off guard by Naruto's abrupt attack, and he could not predict where the boy would attack. When he went to block a punch he thought was coming, he stumbled when he felt a kick against his shin. As he pitched forward, Naruto gripped the front of his vest and wrapped his legs around Mizuki's chest. It was supposed to be his waist, but Naruto had to make his allowances for his lack of height.

Mizuki pitched forward, and, putting his hands on floor behind him, Naruto _flipped_ Mizuki towards the ground and cracked his skull against the floor. Naruto bound away, huffing. Mizuki laid still a moment before picking himself up. He turned and glared murderously at Naruto, blood dribbling from his broken nose. "Brat!" Quickly going through hand signs, Mizuki slapped his palms to the ground. "Doton: Iwa kiretsu no jutsu!" (Earth style: Stone fissure technique!) With a sound of stone breaking, cracks snaked their way towards Naruto too fast for him to react. A stone pillar jumped out and slammed into Naruto's chest once the fissure reached him, throwing towards and through the wall of the house. He landed on the stone streets of Konoha with a thud and a pained groan.

 _Bringing out the techniques, huh bastard?_ _Well, try this!_ Making a crossed hand sign, Naruto molded his chakra and cut it in half multiple times, pushing it away from him. With a puff of smoke, four other Naruto's stood by. Through the hole Naruto made, Mizuki stepped through, twisted satisfaction all over his face. "That.. is what you get… demon!" Naruto's face twisted into rage. "What the hell did I do to you to make you and everyone else hate me?" Mizuki cackled gleefully. "Because what you did is unforgivable! Think Naruto, back to the attack of the Kyuubi no yoko. What do you remember?"

"Only that the Yondaime defeated it!"

Mizuki shook his head. "Oh no, no one could ever defeat such a beast, not even the beloved Yondaime. No, it was sealed away, brat."

Naruto would have attacked by now, but he had a sneaking, horrible suspicion about where this was going. "But, that much chakra could never be sealed away in a scroll or statue," he said.

Mizuki smirked. "Ah, so you do have something in that head of yours. The only thing that could ever hope to contain a tailed beast is a newborn baby with still developing chakra systems. And when, exactly, is your birth date, demon?!"

 _No, it can't be… I refuse to believe it…!_

"That's right! October tenth, the same day the Kyuubi attacked! The Yondaime sealed it inside you, you damn demon!" Mizuki's face took on a horribly pained expression. "My mother and sister died that day, and it was you who killed them!" He roared. _"I'll never forgive you!"_

Naruto was gobsmacked. With his mother around, he never questioned the implications of the hateful glare of the villagers. His mother loved him, and that was always enough.

But now, faced with all the answers, he couldn't believe he never thought of it like that before. It explained everything-why the villagers would have nothing to do with them, and why he could never play with any other kid when he was younger. The people of Konoha all felt immense pain and sadness from the Kyuubi's attack, and they needed an outlet for the pain.

That outlet was Naruto.

In a perverted way, he understood that. He still fervently wished it was someone other than he, however.

Naruto was silent for a while. His clones took the chance to attack Mizuki. He was caught off guard by the corporeal clones, but ultimately prevailed. He looked to Naruto, who had his head down, his hair fringe covering his eyes. He was surprised when a humorless chuckle emanated from the blonde. "I ah, guess I have to thank you Mizuki-sensei. Now I know why I've been mistreated all my life. Still though, you're wrong about a couple things. I am loved-somebody loved a 'demon' like me." He looked up then, and Mizuki growled at the determination and purpose in the blonde's expression. That was what he wanted to destroy. "My Kaa-san has loved me when no one else has. Heh, it occurred to me-Kaa-san's husband and her friends probably perished that day, too. She loves me, though-I will never forget that."

Naruto paused again, seemingly struggling with something. "You said that I was the Kyuubi." He shook his head. "No, I am not the demon. And if people think I am, well…" He grinned defiantly. "I will change them. Because I'm going to be Hokage one day." He pointed his fist at Mizuki, thumb down. "And I'll start with you, bastard."

Naruto made a familiar sign. "Tajuu kage bunshin no jutsu!" The streets of Konoha were now filled with a veritable sea of orange. Mizuki gasped and trembled, eyes wide and gaping at the sight around him.

The sea converged.

* * *

When Kushina came to, she was startled by a masked anbu, hovering over chest, hands awash in a green glow. "Relax," he said, "I'm using medical ninjutsu to heal you." Kushina nodded and looked around. She rested her eyes on her battle stricken home, noting the huge hole in the wall. As she looked about, she sighed in relief as she saw her son, okay, and talking to… the Hokage?

"Naruto?"

He turned around, and his eyes lit up. "Kaa-san!" She caught him as he ran up to embrace her, and she smiled tenderly at him. She turned her eyes over to the Hokage in question, who had also ambled over. He saw her questioning gaze and chuckled. "It seemed Naruto here stopped a traitor before he even betrayed anything. A chunin, no less." Kushina blinked in amazement, and looked to her son, who nodded with a meek smile and a hand on the back of his neck. "Wow… I knew you were gonna be a great shinobi, but a chunin?" She grinned and ruffled Naruto's hair. "That's a great accomplishment, y'know!" He grinned. "Heh heh, thanks Kaa-san." He looked down for a moment. "You should know, that I know about what's sealed inside me." Kushina gasped. "But… how…?" She murmured.

Naruto looked down in shame. "Mizuki told me. I'm… I'm sorry if I took anything away from you that night." Kushina shook her head. "I never blamed for you anything, Naruto. Don't doubt that." Naruto nodded happily.

Hiruzen chuckled. "Yes, you've done well, Naruto. You will be a splendid shinobi some day. Naruto looked surprised for a second, then grinned slightly. "Heh, thanks old man." Hiruzen chuckled, and then did a complete one-eighty and pinned a glare on the blonde. "By the way… Next time, don't leave the window open next time you steal important documents from a man in power, ne?"

Naruto nodded rapidly, lips pressed in a thin line.

Hiruzen nodded, then ambled off into the night. He was tired after today.

* * *

 **Yay, third chapter! I'm pretty new to this writing thing, so forgive the inconsistency with the update speed. You guys really won't be getting a new chapter anytime soon since I'm heading to Europe on Tuesday. Sorry!**


	4. Chapter 4

Yawning, Naruto entered the classroom. There's sunlight streaming through the windows. Everyone who graduated is there, chatting amiably about this-or-that with him-or-her, and laughter fills the room. Everyone is in high spirits, and Naruto can't help but smile, even though no one bothers to speak to him, even though Sasuke is sitting alone again, sending a guarded glare towards anyone within five feet of his desk by the wall. He sits down and puts his head in his hands on the desk in front of him. Even the excitement of graduation day can't give him enough energy this morning, as yesterday's events had pretty much caught up to him. He could feel his eyelids closing…

"N _ah…_ N-Naruto-kun..?" Naruto's head jerked from his desk, and he blinked blearily at a figure standing before him. With a beige sweater, lavender eyes, and dark short-cropped hair, Naruto quickly identified his greeter. "Ah, Hinata! Good morning!" He smiled happily. Naruto was fond of Hinata. Kaa-san had told him to make friends so he wouldn't be lonely. He had tried, but Hinata was the only true friend he had. Every other kid thought he was weird, as he was already working as well as becoming a ninja. That situation barely constituted for any free time. Therefor, no time for playing tag.

Hinata was different, though. He had found her behind a tree in the clearing he used for training. At first, he thought she was an odd thing-she wouldn't look at him, and her face was always red. Despite that, when he asked if he could be her friend, she answered in the affirmative. He would always be grateful towards her for that. When such opportunities presented themselves, they would train together. Overtime, her stuttering got better, and she was able to look him in the eyes. They shared training tips and quizzed each other on test answers, and would joke around as friends. As the top kunoichi in the class, she was a big help to Naruto in his academic career.

"G-Good morn-ning Naruto-kun!" She smiled as well, looking significantly more chipper than he was. He couldn't fault her for that, he was the one working all the time. "Think you're good to go?" He was talking about the graduation, and she nodded. "Mm-hm! I know y-you are!" He merely smiled and nodded, scratching the back of his neck. "Got me, heh. I got this in the bag."

"Take your seats!" a voice yelled, cutting above the chatter. Hinata smiled and waved, taking her seat. Naruto nodded and settled in.

Naruto hadn't realized he had fallen asleep until his name was called. He was having a nice dream too-he couldn't quite remember it, exactly, but he knew he had a large bowl of ramen, and he was hokage. Whether or not he was bathing in the ramen was up in the air.

"Naruto!" his head jerked. "Wazzit wasshappenin?" Iruka rolled his eyes and started again. "Uchiha Sasuke, Haruno Sakura, and Uzumaki Naruto: You three will make up team seven." Naruto, wide eyed, looked around the room, catching Sasuke's eye. The two of them locked gazes for a moment, before Sasuke snorted and looked away. Naruto saw Sakura giggling at Sasuke with a glazed look to her eyes and mentally dismissed her. Her test scores were excellent, but everything else pertaining to being a ninja she was less than stellar in.

Naruto elected to stay awake now-his sensei was due to arrive soon. He wanted to make a good first impression, and he needed to be awake for it.

Any minute now.

* * *

They were still there.

Hinata's team was the second to last to go. He waved at her as they went, and she waved back.

That was an hour and a half ago.

He was alone with his team now, and Naruto had forgone waiting patiently for his sensei. Either they just did not care about their would be students, or they were a drunkard. Either way, it did not bode well for his future career.

Naruto had taken to balancing a kunai on the tip of his finger in his boredom. Sakura had given up on flirting, truly a fruitless effort, and kept glancing up at the door, seemingly in preparation for the sensei's inevitable arrival. Sasuke was staring out the window. In fact, he hadn't looked anywhere else since this morning. Naruto would roll his eyes, but if he did, he would want Sasuke to see it. He was fickle like that.

"Sooo… Where do you think our sensei is?" Naruto's question fell on uncaring ears. Sasuke outright ignored him, and Sakura gave him a flat look. Naruto put his hands up. "Hey, just trying to make conversation. Us being on the same team and all, I just want to make sure the team can… y'know, talk." Sasuke gave a small grunt, but otherwise did not deign to respond. Sakura gave a forlorn sigh, then: "I don't know who he is, but he can't be anyone special if he's this late." Naruto nodded; his thoughts were along the same lines. "Well, anyways, it won't matter who he is! With Sasuke on our team, we're gonna go far." Sakura nodded in certainty at her statement, then looked to the aforementioned genius for approval. He didn't spare her a glance.

Naruto was about to speak when a board near the classroom door creaked in protest under footfall. Looking to the door, Naruto saw the person who would be their sensei. Looking him up and down, from his gravity defying silver hair ( _Does he use chakra to keep it up?_ ), to the shinobi headband, skewed to cover his left eye, to the rest of his standard shinobi outfit, complete with the green flak jacket and a mask covering his face up to his nose.

"Yo."

Silence.

"Well, we certainly have the well rounded bunch here, now don't we?"

Appalled silence. Then, with all the caring of a house cat in the afternoon, he said, "Meet me on the roof in five minutes, or else." With a puff of smoke, the mysterious ninja was gone, presumably to the roof.

Naruto and Sakura shared a disbelieving look. In a flash of blue, Sasuke sauntered past the two of them. Making no move to get up, Naruto and Sakura looked to him, seeing him paused at the doorway and gave them a glance out the corner of his eye. "Well?" he asked. Then, went out the door without another thought.

Naruto shrugged at Sakura, and made to follow.

* * *

"So. Let's hear it."

The three genin met each other's eyes at the command, confused. Sakura took the lead and asked, "Hear what… Sensei?" The man rolled his eye at that. "Oh you know. Your hopes, dreams, and innermost secrets. And names as well, I suppose." He then pointed at his only female student. "You asked, so you go first."

She blanched, then averted her eyes. "Mo… Can't you go first, sensei? That way, I'll know what to say." The man sighed at that. "Oh, I suppose I can hold your hand for a while longer." Ignoring the insulted squawking, he cleared his throat and continued. "My name is Hatake Kakashi. I have some hobbies… My dreams are nonexistent. My secrets? Hmmm…" He shrugged at that, then gestured at Sakura. "Alright, now you have a good template to off of. Go ahead braniac."

Fuming, Sakura sighed then proceeded. "My _name,"_ she began enunciating the last word. "-Is Haruno Sakura. My hobbies are…" At this she looked to her right, at Sasuke. She blushed heavily before continuing. "My dreams…" A repeat, with the addition of a squeal. "My secrets are none of your business!" She exclaimed vehemently, ending her introduction.

Naruto sweatdropped. _Probably the kind of hair products she uses._

"Alright," Kakashi sighed, "How about you, doom and gloom?" Sasuke's eyes twitched, but nevertheless, he began as well. "Uchiha Sasuke. I don't like anything, and I dislike many. I have no hobbies, and no dreams. What I have is an ambition. An ambition to restore my clan, and to kill one man."

 _Geez, someone needs a friggin hug…_ Naruto thought, eyeing Sasuke idly.

"Aaand now for you, droopy eyes." Naruto's attention was drawn back to his… _sensei_. Naruto grinned. "I like ramen, training, and my Kaa-san. My hobbies are gardening, I guess. OH, and I make a mean pork sirloin!" Naruto inspected his nails. "Really, if this ninja career is shot, I could make a mint opening restaurant, heh!" Then, Naruto came to his dream, and his mood plummeted. "Honestly… I just want a good life for me and my Kaa-san. And the best way to do that?" He got a gleam in his eye. "I'm gonna be the very best Hokage there ever was and ever will be!"

Kakashi's gaze fell on him for a moment. Naruto stared back.

"Ha! Like you could be Hokage! If anyone will, I'll bet it's Sasuke-kun!" Sakura squealed, then proceeded to stick her tongue out at him. Naruto crossed his arms and turned his nose up at her. "Egh, wadda you know, eh?"

"Now now, children, quiet down. There's still something to go over," Kakashi drawled out. When the three genin gave him their attention, Kakashi continued. "Ah, there we go. Now, we can discuss the genin test."

"Uh, Kakashi-sensei? We… already took the graduation test to become genin." Kakashi looked thoughtful in response to Sakura's words, before comprehension dawned on him. "Oh, that's right, they don't tell you about the second test." Naruto frowned and asked, "Second test, sensei?" Kakashi nodded to Naruto's inquiry. "M-hm. The graduation test you just took was just to see whether or not you could become genin. All the senseis carry out a second test for graduates to become genin, and it has-" The three genin leaned in almost imperceptibly, enraptured by the ninja's words "-A thirty three percent pass rate."

Naruto's jaw hung, and similar expressions of bewilderment wore themselves on the other two.

Kakashi's singular eye crinkled in an amused smile. "Also, you shouldn't eat breakfast tomorrow. You might throw up. Meet me at the bridge near training ground three at five in the morning. Ja ne!"

In an explosion of smoke, Hatake Kakashi disappeared.

* * *

"Oh no. My Naruto will always have breakfast."

"Kaa-san! What if I throw up?"

Kushina rolled her eyes. "Your sensei said you shouldn't have breakfast, right? He never said you can't." She patted her son's head then, and he pulled away with red cheeks. "Besides," she continued, "I outrank everyone when it comes to my son."

Naruto crossed his arms. "I never agreed to these made up terms."

"It's called you live the 'you live under my roof' contract. Read the fine print. And wash up, you smell."

A sigh. "Yes Kaa-san."

"Good."

* * *

The next morning saw Naruto ambling almost drunkenly towards the spot where his team was supposed to meet. Sasuke was already there, and he looked like how Naruto felt. Read: Sleep deprived and dead on his feet.

Naruto yawned. "G'morning bastard." He received a noncommittal grunt in response. Not one to be deterred, Naruto asked, "Where's Sakura at? She…" a yawn. "...Needs to be here to," he finished, his words barely intelligible.

No response. Naruto sighed. "And people wonder why you don't have friends," he grumbled.

"I don't need friends." Naruto jerked in surprise at Sasuke's cool tone of voice. Catching Naruto's gaze, Sasuke continued. "They will slow me down. That is the last thing I need. I need to fulfill my ambition."

Naruto frowned. "You keep talking like that. What exactly is your ambition?" Sasuke shook his head minutely. "You don't need to know anything. Just know that friends are only ever a liability."

Naruto scoffed. "Please. Everyone, no matter who they are, will need friends. Everyone includes you, hard-ass. Think you're too special for that, do you?"

"More special than you."

Their gazes locked, and tension was thick.

"Oohwaah… Good morning, Sasuke-kun." The duo tore their gazes away from each other and swung them towards the owner of the voice stumbling towards them. With her hair still wet and makeup glistening, Sakura strode up to them with all the grace of pigeon with a broken wing. Naruto waved drowsily, and Sasuke looked away. "Where's Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto waved an arm about with the air of not knowing. "Not here, that's where." Sakura grumbled at that, and Naruto caught grumbles of _stupid sensei_ and how nothing should be up this early.

Naruto settled in and decided to wait for his sensei. He had nothing else to say to his would be teammates.

Hours soon passed, and despite his best efforts, Naruto's eyes slipped close. He fell into slumber just as the sun rose.

* * *

Naruto woke with a yelp as a sharp pain erupted in his side. His eyes snapped open, squinting against the afternoon light. He blinked a figure in his vision, but it was too fuzzy to make out defining features. All he could make out was a blob of green topped with gray.

"If I was an enemy, you would be captured and experimented on or tortured or, better yet, murdered. And wouldn't that just break your poor Kaa-san's heart?" The dry, sarcastic voice cut into his ears and caused no small amount of annoyance. Naruto's vision focused until he could clearly see the masked face of his one eyed sensei, who gave a cheerful wave.

Naruto groaned and got to his feet, seeing his compatriots already ready to go. Sakura did have pink cheeks and had pinned a nasty glare on their sensei. Sasuke looked mildly irritated, which was akin to one of Kiba's temper tantrums.

"Well, good thing you're not an enemy, eh sensei?" Naruto growled. If at all possible, Kakashi's humor grew, and his lone crinkled. "True, true…" he agreed, "Not yet, at least."

A small squeak to his left, and Sakura's voice flitted to his ears. "Not.. Yet?" she quavered out.

Kakashi nodded happily, then gestured toward the nearby forest. "This way, you cute little genin, to training ground three. Let's go find out if I'm your enemy or not, hm?"

* * *

According to the test, the three genin had to retrieve two bells hanging by Kakashi's waist by the time afternoon rolled around, giving the ninjas in training roughly three hours to complete their task.

In Naruto's expert opinion, the test was absolutely horrendous in every way, concerning all areas of ninja expertise and totally irrelevant to the testing of ninja skills. Of course, he could just be saying that because he just (quite literally) got his ass kicked by his sensei and his pride was mutilated and murdered, resurrected, had it's dick cut off, then killed again. Then spit on.

But of course, that wasn't it at all. He truly thought these things to be truth.

Really.

Jumping from tree to tree and rubbing his ass intermediately, Naruto searched for his teammates. Well, one in particular-pretty she may be, but she wasn't a good ninja. Sasuke, the annoying bastard, was a good ninja, and Naruto needed his help. Before the test, he would never had considered this line of thought. That was before his pride was torn in half and repeatedly stomped on by a sensei with no heart.

Admittedly, even though he did defeat Mizuki, there was a world of difference between chunin and jonin. He was not prepared.

He would be, the next time.

Coming to a stop on a tree branch overlooking a small clearing, Naruto had to fight himself to keep from snickering as he took in the scene before him. Sasuke looked to have had as much luck as Naruto, as he had somehow found himself imbedded up to his neck in the dirt, looking to be disgruntled.

Hearing Naruto's snicker, Sasuke looked to the treeline and saw the blonde himself. He gave a loud sigh and scowled ferociously.

Naruto dropped down and bound his way over to him, and could not resist calling out, "Hey, Sasuke! Ducks are supposed to swim in water, not on land!" He didn't receive any response other than a scoff, which only succeeded in making him grin wider.

"Man, this must suck for you, being the top ranked in the class, huh? Guess you're just not all everyone says your cracked up to be!" Sasuke shot him his patented murder-glare, which looked quite ridiculous, considering his situation, and Naruto had no problem cackling over the esteemed Uchiha. "It's no fun being beaten like that, believe me," he continued, absentmindedly rubbing his sore bum, "but I think you got beaten worse!" Sasuke growled, "Shut it, weirdo! It's not like you honestly did that better."

Naruto sighed and plopped down next to Sasuke's head, letting out a wuff of air as he did so. With his pride beaten and torn, Naruto admitted, "Yeah, I guess you're right. And I'm second best, too! For all his nonchalance at life, this guy's fucking good at kicking ass." Naruto paused then and looked at the dismembered head of the genius, then sighed. "It's obvious neither of us could beat him. So that's why, in lieu of these events, I propose an alliance." The two made eye contact, Naruto's resigned expression met with Sasuke's incredulousness. Naruto looked away and continued, "You said it yourself, I did not do good, and you didn't do any better." Sasuke growled.

"That is why," he continued, "That maybe, as the top two in the class, maybe we have a shot." He looked to Sasuke then, who scoffed. Naruto regarded him for a moment, then sighed, got up, and dusted himself off. "Alright, have it your way, prick."

"Wait." Naruto paused, then looked over his shoulder. Sasuke looked to be visibly struggling with something, as if being forced to down a particularly repugnant medicine. Finally, he sighed disgustedly. "Fine, weirdo. Let's get this over with."

Naruto grinned. "I like the sound of that."

* * *

Naruto no longer liked the sound of it.

He and Sasuke found Kakashi terrorizing their teammate with a subpar genjutsu after they both heard her scream Sasuke's name in either terror or… something equal but opposite.

Naruto shuddered. He wouldn't put it past the girl, even in the middle of a test.

In public.

They found her unconscious with their sensei hovering over her like some perverse guardian angel from the pits of hell. Naruto made a hand sign, and two clones burst to life. One flashed through a series of hand seals, and, in another burst of smoke, transformed into Sasuke. The two clones sped off towards the jounin while the real deals crept down toward the comatose pinkette. Taking all the precautions, the two worm-crawled their way on the dirt. They peered through a bush at Sakura, and Sasuke made a hand sign.

"Kai!"

Sakura gasped as her eyes snapped open. The sound alerted the jounin, who looked behind him, belatedly realized he'd been duked, and casually snapped the necks of the clones he'd been toying with. Unfortunately, in that brief instant, the three genin had already bounded away. Naruto sighed in relief that their impromptu plan had worked. He knew he would not get that luxury again, as their sensei had undoubtedly underestimated them, and he wouldn't do so again.

* * *

Kakashi hmmm'd.

Mayhaps these cute little genin actually had real thought processes rather than 'run-n-gun'? Admittedly, he'd been duped by Naruto's clones for a few precious moments, and in the ninja world, that was all it took for a knife to slide between your ribs.

When Kakashi had first met him, he dismissed Naruto. He was a good ninja, achieving second best in his graduating class. It was admirable, but he seemed too proud of himself, when, in all actuality, his Kushina-San was just as much a factor regarding his standings as a ninja. If it weren't for her, he would undoubtedly be much more worse off, perhaps in the bottom ranking.

Taking a second look, it was now obvious to Kakashi that the son of the Fourth had something to prove. He just wasn't quite sure how. Sure, his dream of being Hokage and being recognized by the people was cause for steely determination, but it wasn't that; nor was it his craving of a better life for himself and his Kaa-san.

To top it all off, getting the Uchiha genius to be a team player, even temporarily?

Uzumaki Naruto was… Interesting.

* * *

"Oh, Sasuke-kun, thank you! You saved me, and you were so brave!"

Naruto ignored the frenzy, his thoughts otherwise occupied. _Something about this test didn't add up,_ he thought. _Would Kakashi-sensei even have the authority to only send one of his students back if they failed to retrieve a bell? And why tell us to skip breakfast? He's a veteran, he knows how much a full stomach and rest go in terms of mission completion, why would he intentionally handicap us?_

He turned to his teammates. "Hey, Sakura," he hissed, "Can I ask you something?" Sakura's briefly flashed with annoyance before she turned to address him. "What is it, Naruto?" He spoke quickly, fearful of their sensei's return. "You'd probably know this. Has there been, in the history of Shinobi, an incomplete team? And, would any sensei have the authority to only send some of his students back to the academy?"

Sakura, wanting to get it all over with quickly, racked her brain. "No Naruto, there has never been a case of an incomplete team, nor are sensei's able to have incomplete teams."

Naruto met Sasuke's eyes, and he knew they were on the same wave length. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Sakura try to meet Sasuke's eyes again, but grew shocked when all of his attention was on him. Naruto observed this with no real thought-it didn't really matter to him. He thought furiously.

 _There has never been a team without four members, and senseis cannot send individual genins back. So why would sensei tell us that? He has to know he's lying, he's a veteran ninja. It just doesn't make sense._

"There has to be an ulterior motive." Sasuke's cool voice reached his ears, reaching the same conclusion as Naruto did himself. Naruto nodded. "We don't have much time-he's a seasoned veteran. I think, for now, we should just work together to get those bells."

Sakura frowned. "But the bells-there's only two of them." Naruto waved off her concern. "We'll cross that bridge as we get to it. We don't know what sensei's motives are, and we won't find out here."

"That's okay though. Because I've got a plan."

"..."

"..."

"You? A plan?"

"... Okay, well, sixty percent of a plan." A pause. "Forty-five percent."

"..."

"Alright, I got a quarter of a plan and determination, and that'll be enough. Now Sakura, what do you know about sealing jutsu?"

* * *

Kakashi sighed as he stared down the genius.

He had arrived in a clearing after tracking down his cute genin, who had given him the slip for all of five minutes. Now it looked as if the star pupil just couldn't deign to tolerate his teammates existences any longer. He wasn't surprised, props to blondie for making him play along as long as he did.

Sasuke looked very disgruntled. Honestly, the murderous expression on his twelve year old face was quite adorable, as was the killing intent the kid was leaking out, being the equivalent of a small dog yipping at passerby.

 _Though, I suppose I shouldn't rule out the possibility of him being another shadow clone. Sensei's son has some chakra reserves, for sure._

However, when doom-and-gloom came at him with the patented 'gliding edge' taijutsu style, he revoked his earlier thought process. He casually redirected a fist. _Nope, it's the genius, back for his revenge._

"Cha!"

A shrill… _war cry_ from behind him _the braniac…!_

She had thrown a kunai, perfectly on course to hit a vital spot.

It was slow, but it was so _perfectly_ precise, as if she knew the exact spot for maximum damage and the perfect instant to strike. Alas, she was still a genin, and it was child's play to capture the kunai between his two fingers-

There was a tag on the kunai.

It exploded into smoke, and with the sound metal wire grinding, ninja wire emerged and made to ensnare him. He felt the wire rubbing into his uniform, grating against his skin-

He went up in a puff of smoke, reappearing on a tree branch. _Clever, not many employ sealing jutsu-_

A hiss, a spark at the bottom of his feet, smoke-

The branch he was just at exploded, _Oh, NOW they use exploding tags-_

A hiss a spark _oh COME ON_

A series of explosions filled the forest, filling the jade pillars with a cacophony of banging that rumbled and shook.

It seemed as if they had placed exploding tags at strategic points all across the forest, and Kakashi had no choice but to continue replacing himself to stay ahead of the flames. It was an effective strategy, but not for killing him. He had the reserves of a jounin, as befitting of his rank, and he could do this sort of running for hours on end. Although, he could feel himself going in one giant arc through the forest.

No, it was an effective strategy for pushing him in a direction. _But where are they trying to make me go?_

With a final puff of smoke, Kakashi landed in a clearing. He was glad for his mask, as the surrounding forest was veritably on fire. Looking around, his heart jolted, more tags on the trees surrounding him. They too burst into smoke, ninja wire closing in at blinding speeds. He was a jounin still, however, and quickly made hand seals for a kawarimi, only to stop when he was reminded of the forest fire around him.

 _Kawamiri is useless here!_

The iron ropes ensnared his arms and legs, leaving him quite defenseless. There was a blur of blue, Kakashi raised his leg for a counter, Sasuke's used the momentum from the kick to grab the bells that hung on Kakashi's waist. With a slight wrench, the bells came free and Sasuke bounded away. Kakashi wrenched his hands and feet free from his bounds, but the deed was already done.

Sasuke was joined by his teammates, Sakura was visibly vibrating from happiness, and Naruto simply grinned and laughed cockily. Sasuke himself smirked with self satisfaction, bells swinging from his grip and twinkling merrily.

Kakashi blinked in amazement. This was the last thing he expected, no one had passed the test in all his years a jounin sensei.

It seemed sensei's son had more steel to him than he realized, and Uchiha genius had merit to his title. And he couldn't be quite sure, but there was a different look in the resident fangirl's eyes when she was part of the team attack.

 _These three…_

"You three…"

The trio tensed as they heard his voice, being a low growl, similar to thunder rumbling within a particularly nasty stormfront. They prepared themselves for a fight, as what else could it be? The air was thick with tension, as the jounin trembled like a coil wound too tight.

"...pass."

Sakura reeled back as if having been struck, Naruto's jaw dropped, and Sasuke had _the most_ puzzled look on his face, as if he had just witnessed the Hokage doing the tango with Iruka-sensei under moonlight.

"Congratulations, you three. You are the first team to retrieve the bells from me and live to tell about it." Their faces quite comically drained themselves of color at that, and Kakashi had to hold back a chortle. "Now then, _why_ did you work together? I told all of you only one doesn't get to pass, the one who doesn't get a bell."

"With all due respect sensei," Naruto spoke up, "But I don't think sensei's get to pass only a portion of their students, right Sakura?" The girl smiled innocently. "M-hm!"

 _She has near perfect memory retention, and at only genin… Braniac's an understatement._

Naruto spoke up again. "Plus, you're a jounin, and we just aren't your level alone. That's why we all went at you at once."

 _That's very logical, actually. Underneath the bluster and droopy attitude, lies a strategic mind, just like his father._

"Yes yes, all well and good, but I asked why, those are basic facts. A ninja must have the ability to look underneath the underneath, after all."

The trio were silent for a moment, presumably trying to pick apart his statement. Oddly enough, it was mister doom-and-gloom who spoke up. "It was a lesson," he said simply. The two others stared at him in confusion. Naruto put one hand up to his mouth and whispered… _conspiratorially_ into the genius's ear. Kakashi heard every word just as well had he spoken it into a megaphone. "Sasukeeee… Whadda hell are talking about? We never considered this!"

Kakashi hmm'd. "What kind of test, Sasuke?" The Uchiha frowned in thought before his eyes flashed in recognition. "Teamwork." he said. Kakashi raised his brow. "Oh? How did you come to that conclusion Sasuke?" Naruto took it from there, eyebrows quirking up in realization. "Ooohhh, you wanted us to work against each other from the start… Why didn't you tell us?"

Kakashi turned his eyes skyward and tsk'd. "You may be powerful genins for your age, but you're only acting like shinobi, not thinking like them. You realized that my test was bull, sure, but you never stopped to ask why. In this world, a lack of knowledge is just as deadly as kunai between the ribs." He faced his students then, his visage grave. "If there's one thing I would tell you right now, is that, again, to always look underneath the underneath. There's always a second reason for every action in this world." He looked somewhere that was not there. "Always." He whispered.

He clapped his hands together, and the genin jumped, startled by the man's abrupt personality shift. "Alright, congratulations on passing my test you cute little genin! It was tough, but you pulled through, just like I thought you would!" He received several deadpan looks from that, and he chuckled good naturedly. "Now now, no need for that. You all should thank me for teaching a valuable life lesson! Here, because you're all such good students, I'll tell you one more freebie." _Pause to build tension…_ "You all should run before the emergency reserves come to put out the forest fire you three started."

All three genin paled considerably, and Sakura was the first to dash off, screeching something about her hair and frizziness, Naruto was the second, yelling something about his career being ruined. Sasuke was the last, and Kakashi could hear him grumble underneath his breath about idiotic teammates. Kakashi couldn't help but chuckle quietly to himself once again.

"Kakashi-san! We saw the fire, are you okay?" "Where's the enemy?" He turned lazily to the new arrivals. He appraised them for a moment, filing them to be newly minted chunin who made a forest fire out of a camp fire. Natural disasters always seemed to follow when hormonal, pre pubescent pre-teens were given what really translated to super powers. He shrugged at them.

"To answer both those questions, that remains to be seen."

* * *

"You think we'll get in trouble?"

"If we do, it's all your fault, Naruto!

"What? You would just throw me under the rug like that? _How cruueel~"_

"Shut up."

"How could my loved and trusted teammates say these things to me?" Naruto lamented. The trio were walking towards the residential district, the afternoon sun hanging above their heads. The villagers were blissfully unaware of the natural disaster outside the happy confines of village life, and Naruto couldn't help but envy them a little bit. Who knew when the Hokage would come sweeping in on some kind of dragon-summon, spewing fire and obscenities alike?

He chanced a look at the stern looking bust of the sandaime, and unintentionally quaked in his sandals. _Push comes to shove, I'll just say it was Sasuke's fault, he's the one with the Gokakyu no jutsu._

"You're the one who set fire to the forest!" Naruto rolled his eyes. "It was only half the forest. Besides, I'm a ninja right? Ninja are supposed to use all the tools available to complete the mission."

"Fire! Forest! _Forest fire!"_

"You're overreacting."

"Ugh!"

Seeing Sakura throw her hands up in apparent disbelief, Naruto stuck his tongue out and flashed a victory sign.

"Where did you get sealing tags?"

Naruto met Sasuke's eyes and shrugged noncommittally. "Apparently, it's an Uzumaki family trait. We were known for sealing jutsu, and produced some of the most potent sealing techniques around. Least, that's what Kaa-san said." Sasuke raised a brow. "Why didn't you use any of these techniques in the academy?"

"You can blame my Kaa-san for that one again, they're apparently 'family secrets,' or whatever." He spied at the sun then, gauging the time. "Speakin' o' which, I should prolly get goin' if I want to make it in time. Ja ne!" With that, Naruto shoved his hands in his pockets and ambled off, whistling a tune to himself.

"Ah… Naruto? The residential districts that way." Sakura thumbed over her shoulder. He just waved a hand at her. "Yeah, I know. But I have a job to do. Like, a literal paying job. I'm gonna be late."

"A real job? You?"

"Yeah… What? I'm old enough to have a job if I'm old enough to be a ninja."

"Yeah, but… why?"

Naruto shrugged. "Necessity." He answered simply. Sakura furrowed her brows. "You needed to?" He nodded. "M-hm." She, in turn, cocked her head to the side. "Where?" Naruto blinked. "Huh?" She rolled her eyes. "Where do you work, smart one?" Naruto's eyes quaked slightly in response. "Oh, uh, just at a little stand, Ichiraku's ramen. Best food this side the elemental nations to me!" With a final cheerful grin, he waved over his shoulder at her.

* * *

Naruto groaned when he heard the the chime of a bell. They hadn't had this much business since it was known that he was working there. He always wondered why his place of endorsement never got as much business as others. Now he knew what to blame, but having an external source to pin the blame on didn't do anything to relieve his guilt.

Sighing, he greeted his customer. "Hello, and welcome to… huh?!" Standing before him, twisting her fingers shyly, stood Sakura. Her brows were furrowed, and she opened her mouth to speak. She closed, seeming to reconsider, then opened her mouth again. No sound came out. Naruto, realizing this wasn't going anywhere, decided to speak first.

"Hello there, beloved teammate! This is surprising, I only ever see the odd passing merchant in here. So, what'll you have?" Sakura took a moment to respond, mouth gaping like a fish, before her eyes darted to the left taking in details on a menu that sat on the counter. She stammered the first thing on the menu. "M-miso ramen, please!"

Naruto nodded, deciding to give her space. He's learnt to try to not deal with women whenever they acted weird. Hopefully she would come around to what's on her mind. Or not. It didn't matter to Naruto all that much, but he did know a warm bowl of ramen did wonders for the soul. He smiled as he put in an extra ounce of effort for his teammate.

Naruto was glad for the task that occupied his hands. He never really interacted with the girl in the academy beyond the passing greeting if they crossed paths in the hallways. Far as he could tell, she had a huge-mega-crush on the teme, no surprises there. She was polite to a fault, and didn't attribute much importance to the physical aspect of being a shinobi, instead taking her academics much too seriously. She was a great student, but was unable to apply the things she learned.

The ramen was done now, a small miso being well within his abilities as a chef. He served it to his teammate while taking a bow, amusing himself with his own theatrics. She just rolled her eyes before taking up her chopsticks and twirling some noodles around the tip. She lifted it before her mouth and blew gently on the broth before enveloping the noodles with an eager mouth. She flinched slightly at the taste, fully expecting something subpar, not the delicious blend of herbs and spices swirling over her tastebuds.

She swallowed and quickly took another, more generous helping, letting out a happy "Mmm!" as she did so. Swallowing again, she opened her mouth to speak. "Wow, this is actually really good Naruto. I didn't know you were a cook. Is this where you disappear to after class all the time?" Naruto nodded, all too happy to be conversing with someone his age. "Yep! I come from a poor district, so I had to take up a job to support me and Kaa-san. It was pretty rough at first, but I really wouldn't change it. I see people from all around the Elemental Nations pass through here, and some of the nicer ones tell me about where they've been. Did you know that there's a place where it never stops raining? True stuff."

She gave him a suspicious glance, which he shrugged at. She, in turn, rolled her eyes before returning to her broth. The next few minutes were filled with the clinking of the chopsticks against the bowl and the sounds of Naruto busying himself with inventory, wanting something to do with his hands in the silence.

"Naruto," she said a few minutes later, and he turned to look to her with an inquisitive expression. Seeing that she had his attention, she continued. "I… I need to say that… Well, I just…" she sighed. "I need to apologize."

A jolt of surprise ran through him, making his eyes widen and his mouth drop open a tad. She hastened to explain herself. "It's just that… I didn't really contribute today, like at all. It was all you and Sasuke-kun. I mean, I just, kinda didn't take you seriously. I had you pegged as some sort of slacker, the way you're always so tired in class, and I was jealous that you were second best without even trying. But, after seeing what your day is like, I didn't really know anything."

Naruto was speechless. Hearing her recognizing his situation and actually feel the need to apologize to him filled him with a certain sense of warmth that bloomed from his chest and spread outward. It was the first time he had his accomplishments recognized by someone other than his Kaa-san, no teacher ever gave him that.

"So, now, I'm not going to be like that anymore. I'll the best teammate you'll ever have, got it?" She finished with a bright smile, eyes gleaming.

He felt something prick in his eyes at his teammates eyes. Recognizing the sensation, he furiously wiped at his eyes. "Heh. I'll hold ya to that, Sakura," he ground out past the lump at his throat. He met her eyes then, grinning at her. "Right back at ya. I got your back, s'long as you got mine."

He held out a fist towards her. She raised a brow, still grinning, and held her own fist. The two met in the middle. It was a promise.

On her way out after paying, Sakura turned back to him again. She gave him another smile. "Y'know, Naruto… I wouldn't mind seeing that garden of yours." And with those parting words, Sakura flipped the entrance cloths over her head and waved good bye.

Naruto yawned, his body feeling heavier than has in days. He couldn't keep the grin off his face as he finished his shift. Things were looking up.

* * *

"C'mon Kaa-san, I know you were right about breakfast, but _really…"_

" _I told you~"_

"Kaa-san!"

* * *

 **No excuses here, m'just a lazy bastard *shovels in more mac'n'cheez***


	5. Chapter 5

"I feel like a nanny."

"Suck it up, would you?"

" A nanny, Sakura. Where are all the daring rescues and heroic last stands? I feel _betrayed."_

"Just get to the tomatoes, okay?"

Naruto grumbled. "Fine, fine." The trio were working on a civilian's garden, and Naruto couldn't be bothered to even remember the client's name. It was quite the farmland, spanning almost a half mile in every direction, filled to the brim with blooming flowers and ripe vegetables. It was a garden for the economically privileged, and as such the owner decided to hire trained shinobi to act as groundskeepers.

Despicable.

"Hey, Sasuke, you done with your stretch?" They decided to divide up the garden into three sections, though Sakura and Naruto decided to tackle one section at a time, together. The warm feeling made a comeback when when Sakura made to go with him instead of the genius, and didn't fade away for the duration of the mission.

Naruto's question made Sasuke's head turn, and he appraised his teammates. He tche'd.

"I don't need help _weeding,_ weirdo. I'm almost done."

Sasuke was a little under half way finished.

Sakura grinned prettily at the blackette. "Don't worry, Sasuke-kun! We'll help you out!" Sasuke sighed, but made no other outward dismissal. Taking it for what it was, Naruto stepped forward and started picking strawberries, depositing them in the wicker basket tucked under his arm.

It was tireless, thankless work, and that fact was ground in, not unlike salt in a wound, when he spied their sensei amusing himself with an orange book, complete with a 'no minors' stamp. Naruto's respect for his sensei was plummeting by the second, and he had no problem sharing his thoughts.

"Ugh, stupid sensei. Why does he get to just sit there while we toil away in the dirt like _slaves?"_ Sasuke sighed, as if this conversation was commonplace. "Stop being so dramatic weirdo. It's to build teamwork. We've had this conversation multiple times."

"That's my point! We've been at these D-rank missions for two entire weeks! Isn't time for a change of pace? Like, I don't know, a friggin' C-rank?"

Sakura tutted at her friend. "Just be patient, Naruto. Just think; we do our missions well, sensei takes notice, recommends us, we'll have a C-rank mission in our lap before we know it!"

Naruto sighed. "Yeah, I know. But, we've been trained to fight, so why aren't we out there? It's just… frustrating."

The three worked in silence for a while following his words. It was muggy and warm, the kind of heat that makes one's clothes stick to the skin, and make salty sweat pool in unsavory places. It was the middle of summer after all; and summer in the land of fire usually constituted this kind of weather.

"Hey, weirdo."

"Got a name, you know."

Sasuke ignored the attitude. "What else do you know about fuuinjutsu?" Naruto grinned at the question; he could tell the genius wanted to make use of the art in their missions. He waggled his brows. "Oh? Is the proud Uchiha, top of his class, chunin level ninja is taking an interest in little ol' me? I'm truly touched." He wiped away faux-tears.

Sasuke stared at him, face blank.

Naruto sighed. "Jeez, no fun today.." He cleared his throat. "Quite a lot, if I do say so myself. It's really the only thing I have talent at. Kaa-san said it's an Uzumaki specialty!"

Truth be told, Naruto was quite proud of the art. When he had first heard of it, he wrote it off as nothing special. I mean, c'mon, who wants to sit around all day and write words on paper? Kaa-san didn't take that so well, and proceeded to literally drag her son by the scruff of his neck to a secluded training ground. She went to a boulder, about as tall as her and three times as wide (a pillar of solid rock, for all intents and purposes) and placed a simple tag on the side.

Naruto gave his heart to fuuinjutsu when the boulder simply exploded.

Given the common practice of exploding tags, one could say it wasn't all that special. This was different. The tag utilized key words, for lack of a better term, to inject chakra into the boulder, then expelling that chakra outwards with enough force to to blow it apart, without all the pesky flames and smoke.

Fuuinjutsu worked not unlike a machine, namely each one had a specific purpose, and you had to input directions then push in chakra to make it work. Common explosive notes utilized keywords like _hold, trigger,_ and _expel,_ and many others to produce the explosive results it's named for.

"Kaa-san says it can be used for anything, like genjutsu. The great fuuinjutsu masters of history could stop natural disasters AND start them. Pretty cool, huh? I'm gonna master that art one day, cause I'm just that awesome!" Sasuke snorted at that, and Naruto scowled. "What was that, bastard? Got something to say?" Sasuke eyed him in his peripheral vision. "If fuuinjutsu is so great, then why didn't it save your clan?"

Naruto scowled fiercely, and balled his fist in Sasuke's shirt. "You got a lot of nerve, you bastard. What exactly gives you the right to spit on my clan? Yours is gone too!"

Sasuke slapped Naruto's hand away. "Unlike you, I had to watch it happen. You know nothing about it, growing up with your mother holding your hand!"

Naruto growled fiercely, about to snap, when he felt a hand clamp down on his shoulder. He jerked heavily, not having expected any interference.

"Now now, you two. Don't get all feisty now, when you're almost done. Or maybe, I'll just go ahead and dock both of your shares, hmmm? That new dango shop is having a sale right now, too…" Kakashi's calm demeanor contradicted the steel like grip on the genin's shoulder, the genius being in a similar predicament.

Naruto shook off his sensei's hand. "Yeah, whatever, I got it…"

Sakura was pale.

The rest of the mission was spent in silence.

* * *

The pseudo-fight with the Uchiha already had Naruto in a bad mood by the time of the mission's completion, and the stares of the villagers as he walked the village streets certainly didn't help matters. Normally, this sort of thing would be tolerable, because as long as he had his Kaa-san, they didn't matter.

His feelings were raw after their little fiasco and were very sensitive to the nasty looks. So far, his day was getting pretty subpar.

At least he didn't have work until the evening, so he had a few hours. His house was his destination. He told himself it was just to pick up some training supplies, and totally not because his Kaa-san always knew what to say to make him feel better.

He sighed as he grasped the handle of his door. Closing the door behind him, he smiled softly at the figure of his mother doing the dishes.

"Hey, I'm home Kaa-san." Kushina turned with a smile at the sound of her son's voice. "Welcome back. You sure took your time with this mission. Those D-ranks getting a bit tough for ya?"

Naruto sighed, and despondently replied, "Yeah, I guess." Kushina frowned. She knew her son- it was too easy to rile him up, and that always amused her. She set the dish in her hand down, forgotten. She smiled softly at her son, and ruffled her hand through his blond locks. "What's wrong, musuko?"

Naruto scratched the back of his head. "Well… it's Sasuke." And wasn't that a tired argument? Kushina knew her son wasn't one to complain, his years growing up the way they did made sure he was humble and happy for the things they had, however few they did. He was also twelve. Being trained to be a shinobi from the tender age of six would dampen anyone's fire, but hormones were real, chakra or not. Sasuke rubbed Naruto in a bad way, no way around that. "Another spat I take it?" She asked, quirking her eyebrow at her son.

Naruto pouted at his mother. "Kaa-san, you make it sound so childish…"

Kushina's smile dropped, and she tutted at him. "That's because it is, y'know? You better get along with your teammates, or else what happens when you're out there on a real mission?" Naruto scowled and heatedly replied, "He said that our clan was wiped out because it was too weak. I wasn't about to just let him say that!" Kushina was not convinced.

"Naruto, you never knew our clan, not the way he knew his. They weren't your family like his was, so, really, shouldn't you keep that in mind when you try to defend a clan that isn't even there? He's just hurting, very badly." Naruto listened to his mother silently, scowling. Kushina sighed, wishing her son sometimes didn't have such a stubborn streak like her.

"Naruto, try to keep in mind what it was probably like for him growing up, supported by his family and loved. He had a Kaa-san, Tou-chan, Nii-san, everything. Then it was gone. Overnight. No time to think about it, no time to prepare, just gone. All of his ties, severed." Kushina smile, her eye's squinched shut. "I think we can forgive a little broodiness, ne?"

Naruto looked to the side, cheek puffed. He didn't give a response.

Kushina's smile became strained, her eye twitching. "I _said,_ I think we can forgive a little broodiness, right, Naruto?"

Like a switch had been flicked, Naruto immediately drew up straight and taut, waving his hands in surrender. "Right right, whatever you say, Kaa-san, you're right, golly you can be so smart sometimes!" He yelped as his Kaa-san chopped down on his head with her hand, smiling sardonically at her son. "Cut the crap, musuko. Now come on, help me with the dishes. After that, help me tend to the garden before you go to work, ne?" Naruto smiled brightly at his mother, glad for the change in subject. "Sure thing, Kaa-san!"

* * *

"Come on old man, just give us a C-rank already!" the loud one yelled.

"Mo, don't call Hokage-sama old man, it's rude…" The pretty one said, playing peacemaker.

The silent one stayed as such, but Hiruzen could feel his expectancy for a C-rank as well. Truthfully, there really wasn't anything stopping him from sending the team in front of him on a mission of such calibre. They were all powerful shinobi in their own right, and even if they weren't, he could see the raw potential in each of them, malleable and yet untapped. They had a wide range of skills suited to help them survive outside the walls of the village, and their jounin-sensei was a talented teacher with a heart of gold. Hiruzen could rest easy knowing they would not let any of their students lives be lost.

He knew this all to be fact, but it never got easier.

He turned his attention to their jounin-sensei, asking the question he knew the answer to. "What do you think, hmm? As jounin-sensei, you get the final say in such matters."

Ignoring the insulted squawking of the loud mouth genin behind them, the jounin sensei smiled slightly. "Hai, Hokage-sama. They may not look the part, but my team works together well. I believe they're ready."

The Hokage closed his eyes and exhaled. "Alright then." He opened his sharp brown eyes then, calling out loudly to his office entrance. "You may enter."

The door obediently opened, and old man with a grizzled half beard and worn beach hat entered, glaring boorishly at nothing and smelling of sake.

He took one look at the team assembled in the office space, and immediately said "This is what's 'spose to protect me? Three underage brats and their babysitter?"

Predictably, the loud one piped up at once. "Who're you calling brats, old man!?"

"Hard of hearing, too. Dontya need that to be a ninja?'

"Oh, I hear ya! I'll hear you into the ground!"

The man turned to the Hokage sitting in his chair, fingers laced in front of his mouth and eyes dancing in amusement. "Please don't tell I have to trust my life to these brats," he almost pleaded, pouting petulantly. Hiruzen's eyes crinkled in further amusement. "Oh, I assure you Tazuna-san, they will be more than sufficient to guarantee your safety. Why, one of them even has an infamous doujutsu that makes their clan formidable fighters."

Tazuna rubbed his chin at his words. "Mmf. Well alright then."

He stole a glance at the loud mouthed boy he'd been trading barbs with, and got a smug look in return.

"Listen up." The Hokage's voice, sharp and commanding, immediately cut through to all the people present and demanded their attention. "Once you leave these walls, you will all be full shinobi of Konohagakure. You will not be in the safety of the village anymore, and there many of those who can and will take everything you have to give to better themselves. Remember your training, remember the mission, and above all else, remember your comrades. Good luck, and may you carry the will of fire."

"Hai, Hokage-sama!" came the unanimous cry of all the shinobi present. The wild haired boy went to send another smug look to Tazuna, who's demeanor had suddenly changed, his eyes serious, filled with a different emotion he couldn't place. The boy shrugged, and turned to leave the office. "Ah, forget this guy," he called out loudly, semi-trying to gain the man's attention.

"He doesn't know what he's talking about, right Akamaru?"

The ninja hound on top of Kiba's head yipped in agreement. Hinata followed after him. "K-kiba-kun, you shouldn't b-be so rude!" she called out, sending an apologetic glance to the grizzled man. Shino strode after them, hands in his pockets and mouth covered.

Tokubetsu jounin Yuhi Kurenai smiled reassuringly at Tazuna. "You have nothing to fear Tazuna-san. Me and my team will keep you safe, I guarantee it." He looked over to the kind sounding women, and shook his head. "Just make sure the brats are ready to go at seven sharp, I won't wait any longer than that." With his piece said, Tazuna fished a bottle of sake out of his robes, took a swig, and stumbled toward the entrance of the Hokage's office. He bumped into the door frame, and spilled some his drink on the floor. He eyed the spill for a moment, said "Whoa-ho," and slinked out of sight.

Kurenai raised an eyebrow at her Hokage, who just chuckled grandfatherly.

* * *

 **So... hi.**

 **sorrysorrysorrysorrysorrysorrysorry**

 **I finally found this story again. See, my old computer crashed, but luckily, I had this story on a flash drive. Unluckily, the flash drive also apparently had the entire universe on it too, so I couldn't find this story for the longest time, and I gave up on it after awhile.**

 **If you actually like this story, sorry it took so long, and also sorry it's kind of a lame chapter. I'll try to update this story more regularly from now on, believe it!**

 **Thank you truly, support for this is about half what keeps it going.**


End file.
